Home at Last
by Joe's girl
Summary: Picks up during the last scene of Season 6, episode 24 as Jack is confronting Secretary Heller and then takes a turn into an AU. JackAudrey for all of you shippers who weren't happy with the end of season 6. Chapter 4 is up! Sorry for the delay.
1. Chapter 1

_This started as a one-shot but quickly got out of hand. I think it will end up with about three chapters. It picks up in the closing scene of Day 6. A dripping wet and well armed Jack entered James Heller's house just moments earlier to confront him. _

_If you take the time to read, please submit a review. Good or bad, I love to know what people think of my stories. Thanks!_

_As always, I don't own a thing here, but wish with all of my heart that I did._

HOME AND FAMILY

Chapter 1

Day 6, 5:49am

Jack paced in the den of Jim Heller's Malibu beach house. Their argument raged on. Jack's gun was drawn but no longer pointed at Heller. "Why didn't you try to get me out of China?" Jack hissed angrily.

"I did try," Heller calmly defended himself.

"Not hard enough," Jack shouted. His anger and pent up emotion over the last 20 months finally bubbled to the surface and overflowed. "You had the political power. Was the timing not right? Was it a little too complicated? Or was I just an acceptable loss?"

"Jack, I understand your anger," Jim replied calmly. His mild demeanor was irritating Jack even more than if the older man had screamed back and Jack suspected that Heller knew it and was using it to destabilize Jack's position.

"Shut up!" Jack shouted him down. "You don't understand a thing about me."

"Pop-Pop, why are you shouting?" said a sleepy voice from the other side of the room.

Jack turned quickly surprised by the sound. His eyes fell on the figure of a small girl. Jack guessed her age to be between two-and-a-half and three years old. She was standing in the arched doorway that led from the dimly lit den to the bedrooms down the hall. She was dressed in sunny yellow pajamas and clutched a stuffed koala bear. The little girl had pale blond hair and brown eyes which she rubbed with the back of her free hand. The gesture immediately brought back memories of Kim at the same age. In fact, Jack realized, she looked a lot like Kim at that age. That was when reality hit him like a bomb.

The timing was right. If Audrey had been early in the first trimester of a pregnancy when Jack staged his death at CTU just a little more than three years earlier, their child would now be about two-and-a-half. Jack couldn't take his eyes off of her. He could see a mix of himself and Audrey in the child. It was undeniable; she was the product of their union.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Heller said as he reached for the child. She crossed the room looking warily at Jack, who quickly concealed his weapon. "Here," Jim said as she approached the sofa. "Climb up on Pop-Pop's lap."

The little girl did as she was told and nestled her head against her grandfather's neck. "You should use an inside voice," the little girl admonished him as she yawned.

"You're right," he told her. He kissed her forehead. "I was wrong to shout inside. I'll try not to do it again." He glanced up at Jack who dropped his eyes to the floor. "It's too early for you to be up, munchkin. How about if I get you some water and you go back to bed?"

"I want Mommy to get me some water," she whined.

"Mommy's sleeping right now. Do you remember what the doctor said? He told us that Mommy is still very sick and she's going to sleep a lot for a few days. For now, Pop-Pop is going to take care of you just like before Mommy came home. Once Mommy gets better she'll be able to take care of you again."

The little girl nodded. Jack wondered how much of this she understood. She was too young to understand why her mother had gone away and now was back physically if not emotionally. He wondered if Audrey had even recognized her child when she came home. All at once his heart was breaking. He watched Jim snuggle with his little girl and he fought the urge to snatch the child from Jim's arms and take her into his own. He wanted to smother her with kisses and tell her that he was her daddy and that they were a family; that they would live together like a family and that together, they would make her Mommy all better. Instead, he put on his internal brake and stepped back so that he was no longer close enough to touch her.

"I…I'll get her some water," Jack stammered and turned to go into the kitchen. He could feel himself shaking all over, uncontrollably, as if he had a fever. It took him a minute or two of leaning against the kitchen wall to get himself back together, but once he did, he picked up the nearest phone and dialed CTU.

"CTU, O'Brian," Chloe said as she answered the phone.

"Chloe, it's Jack."

"Jack! Where have you been? We've got half of CTU looking for you. You don't have to disappear. Vice President Daniels granted you a pardon; you and Buchanan and Karen Hayes. They can't prosecute you for what you did this morning."

"That's great, that's great," Jack said somewhat dismissively. It was good news, but it wasn't his immediate concern. "I need a favor," Jack said quietly, wanting to make sure that Jim Heller didn't overhear him.

"So what's new?" Chloe muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Jack chose to ignore her. "This should only take a few minutes. I need you to search the vital records database. Audrey Raines had a baby, probably born in Washington, about seven or eight months after you helped me to escape. I need you to find a birth certificate."

Chloe said nothing, but Jack could hear the keys clicking under her fingers. While he was waiting, he went through the cupboards to find a child's cup. He found it on the third try, filled it with water and snapped on a plastic lid.

"Got it," Chloe answered after less than a minute. "She had a baby girl, Jacqueline Alicia, 8 pounds, 4 ounces, 24 inches long."

"Who's listed as the father?" Jack asked. He knew that he was the child's father, but he needed to know if Audrey had put his name or Paul's on the birth certificate.

"Jack, you're not going to like this," Chloe said nervously.

"It's okay, Chloe. I already know that the baby is mine. I just want to know if my name's on the birth certificate. From a legal standpoint this might be important to me if Jim Heller continues to try and keep me away from Audrey. If Paul Raines is listed as the father, I'll have to prove paternity through DNA."

"You're listed as the father," she told him.

Jack let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Good," he said matter-of-factly. "I'll need a copy of the birth certificate."

"I'll send it to your PDA," Chloe responded automatically.

Just as automatically, Jack started to respond, "Fine," but then he stopped and remembered that his PDA had taken a swim in the Pacific Ocean that likely rendered it useless just like his phone. "That won't work," he said instead. "I'll have you fax it to me when I need it."

"When will that be?" Chloe asked. "Morris and I are going home soon."

"I'll keep that in mind. If you don't hear from me in a half hour, go home."

Jack returned to the den with the glass of water in hand. Jacqueline watched Jack approach and reached shyly for her cup.

"Here you go, sweetheart," Jack said with a soft smile.

Jacqueline said nothing but took a long drink.

"What do you say, honey?" her grandfather asked.

"Thank you," she said in a quiet voice. Her eyes flitted upward to meet Jack's and then back down. She took another long drink and handed the cup to Heller. "All done," she told him.

Jim smiled warmly at Jacqueline. His love and devotion to the child were evident. "Okay, let's go back to bed," he said as she stood up with Jacqueline in his arms. She yawned again and rested her head on his shoulder as her grandfather carried her from the room. As they turned the corner, Jacqueline lifted her head to peek over Jim's shoulder at Jack. She waved shyly and then put her head back down. Jack waved back and smiled.

Jack waited until Jim was out of the room and down the hall before stepping behind Jim's desk. He again dialed Chloe's number. She answered on the first ring and Jack wasted no time on pleasantries. "Chloe fax that birth certificate to this number," he glanced down at Jim's fax machine and read the number off to her.

"Got it. You should have it in less than a minute. Can I go home now?" Chloe asked sarcastically.

Jack couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, get some rest. Thanks, Chloe," he said as the fax started coming across the machine.

It was another two or three minutes before Jim Heller came back into the den. Jack was seated comfortably in the big leather desk chair. He was leaned back with his hands behind his head. It was clear to him that, no matter how much Heller was trying to pretend otherwise, his presence was annoying to the older man and he was beginning to enjoy that upper hand.

"Is she asleep?" Jack asked.

"No, but she's tired. She'll fall back to sleep soon," Jim answered without looking at Jack.

"When did you plan on telling me?"

"Telling you what?"

"That I'm her father."

"What makes you believe that you're her father?" Jim asked. Heller could play poker with the best of them. He gave no hint of what was in his hand. If Jack thought that Heller was going to give up easily, he was wrong.

"Well for starters, she was conceived about three-and-a-half years ago and Audrey and I were together then," Jack said coolly.

"That doesn't make her yours," Jim replied in an equally cool tone.

Jack squinted and shook his head. "Are you suggesting that your daughter was sleeping around? Most fathers would prefer not to admit that."

"I didn't say that she was sleeping around, but she was still married."

"So you think she was sleeping with both Paul and me? That still doesn't sound like something you would be very proud to admit."

Jim said nothing as he glared at Jack.

"That little girl couldn't look any less like Paul Raines. Don't insult me, Jim. She's mine and you know it. You may not like it, but you know it's true," Jack spat.

"Believe what you want, Jack," Heller said nonchalantly with a shrug of indifference.

"It's not just what I want to believe, Jim, it's the truth!" Jack grabbed the single page from the fax machine. "It's my name that Audrey put on Jacqueline's birth certificate not Paul's. Now, if you still want to say that Paul is Jacqueline's father, you're going to have to go to court to prove it. I'll happily provide a DNA sample."

Again Jim stared silently at Jack.

"If you think you are going to keep my daughter away from me, you're wrong," Jack told Heller calmly. "You may have been able to get some judge to give you a restraining order to keep me away from Audrey, but I'll fight you to the Supreme Court if you try and keep me away from Jacqueline. Right now, Audrey is in no shape to take care of her, but I am and if I have to, I'll go to court to get custody of her."

Jim cast his eyes downward in a gesture of silent defeat. He headed for the bar in the corner of the room. "Do you need a drink?" he asked.

Jack nodded. "Scotch and water."

Jim dropped two ice cubes into a glass and poured bourbon over them. Then he set the scotch bottle along with a carafe of water on the bar and indicated wordlessly to Jack that he was welcome to pour his own. Jim retreated to the sofa while Jack poured his drink.

Jim didn't look at Jack when he spoke again. "Please don't take Jacqueline away from me." His voice was quiet and he no longer sounded like the take-charge Secretary of Defense that Jack knew so well. "She's the only reason that I've stayed sane for the last few months. When I thought Audrey was dead, her daughter was all that I had left. We've spent the last few months together trying to heal. I've spent more time with Jackie than I did with my own children when they were growing up. Until last night when I got the call that Audrey was alive, Jacqueline was the only bright spot in my life. Now after seeing Audrey and not knowing how well she'll recover from her ordeal, Jacqueline is still incredibly important to me."

"Where is Audrey?"

"Asleep in the master bedroom. The doctor sedated her."

"What did he tell you? What's her prognosis?"

Heller finally met Jack's gaze. "He didn't give me any guarantees. He said that right now, she tested positive for high levels of several drugs. That's how they controlled her. They used the drugs to calm her down and make her compliant. From what he could tell, she must have fought them at first and the only way they could control her was with drugs. He said that she has a number of healed defense injuries, broken fingers and forearms and stab wounds as if she was actively fighting someone off."

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head unable to bear any more pain. "Did they assault her?" He felt bile rise to his throat at the thought of Cheng or his men raping his beloved Audrey.

"The doctor examined her. He said there was no evidence of recent trauma. He couldn't rule out that they raped her earlier in her captivity." Jim looked away. He stood up and walked to the window overlooking the ocean. "It's a father's worst nightmare, isn't it?" he said softly knowing that Jack, having an adult daughter himself, would identify with his own fears. "I almost could accept her being killed in an accident, but the thought of some bastard raping her is more than I can even think about."

Jack nodded. He felt responsible and the guilt was nearly strangling him. He remembered learning after Teri's death that she had allowed herself to be raped in order to protect Kim. The pain and the guilt at that moment were no different than they were now.

Jim continued interrupting Jack's train of thought. "The doctor said that the drugs in her blood stream are long acting. He suggested keeping her sedated for a few days until those drugs are gone. Then he will lighten up the sedation and let her wake up. At that point we'll know how much psychological damage has been done. It's possible that with counseling she'll go on to lead a normal life but it's also possible that they completely broke her and she'll have lost touch with reality and never get it back. We just have to wait and see."

Jack nodded vaguely and sipped his drink. The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Jack spoke first. "Why didn't Audrey tell me that she was pregnant?"

"She didn't know until several weeks after your 'funeral'. Then when she found out that you were alive, she wanted to wait until the crisis passed to tell you. That was why she came out to the warehouse that morning after Charles Logan had been arrested. She wanted to see you and tell you everything, but before she got a chance to tell you, the Chinese got to you."

"What do we do now, Jim?" Jack asked quietly. The storm between the two of them seemed to have calmed. They might not be friends, but they weren't enemies either. "I understand why you blame me for what happened to Audrey. I also understand your desire to protect Audrey and Jacqueline, but I love them. I may not have any legal right to be part of Audrey's life, but I do have a right to be part of Jacqueline's. I want her to know that I'm her father and that I love her. I want to take care of Audrey. She and Jacqueline and I should be together. We're a family. I don't want to take either of them away from you, Jim, but you understand how important family is to me. I'll do everything in my power to keep both of them safe. I have no intention of going back to work for the intelligence community. I won't get sucked back into that again. My father's company needs a CEO and I'm the logical choice. I'd like to bring the company back from the kind of work my father and Graem were doing and make it legitimate again. That's the legacy I want to leave for my daughters and my nephew."

"I wish that I could believe you, Jack."

"You _can _believe me. I won't let Audrey and Jacqueline get hurt the way Kim and Teri did. It won't happen. I won't let it."

Jim took a final swallow of his drink. He set down the glass harder than necessary and let out a long slow sigh. "If I tell you to get the hell out of here, you'll have a lawyer within 24 hours and you'll take my granddaughter away from me, won't you?"

"Yes," Jack said quietly as he held Jim's gaze.

"Then I don't have a choice. Stay here until Audrey gets better. If she's in a position to make her own decision, then it's hers to make. If she never reaches that point, I'll fight you tooth and nail for custody of Jacqueline."

"I can live with that," Jack said. "Now I'd like to see Audrey."

Jim stood and led Jack to the master bedroom where Audrey lay sleeping. "Thank you," Jack whispered as Jim opened the door and stepped aside to allow Jack to enter. Tears filled Jack's eyes as he walked slowly to the bed and sat down on the edge. "Hi, sweetheart," he said softly. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I love you, Audrey," he told her quietly. "Thank you for giving me such a beautiful daughter. I can't wait to get to know her. We're going to be a family, Audrey. I promise you, baby." Jack stroked her face gently and tucked her hair behind her ears. "No one is ever going to hurt you again. I won't let them. You just rest now, honey and when you wake up, I'll be here. Jacqueline and I need you to get better, Audrey," he told her in a quivering voice. "I'll make sure you get whatever help you need. I just want you to get better." He was sobbing quietly as he leaned in close to kiss her lips. "I love you with all my heart, Audrey, and I always will."

Jack sat for a few moments longer just watching Audrey sleep. He hadn't slept in over 24 hours now and the scotch was beginning to take its toll. He could feel his eyes going closed. He wanted to lie down beside her and snuggle against her warm body, but knew that it wasn't the way to gain Jim's trust. The two had found some common ground, their love of both Audrey and Jacqueline, and Jack needed to tread carefully on that ground. He kissed Audrey's hand one more time and then stood and turned to leave the room. Jim stood in the doorway.

"You look like you could use some sleep," Jim commented.

Jack said nothing at first. Something inside of him felt that admitting to needing sleep made him weak. Never mind that he hadn't slept in almost 28 hours now. Never mind that he had spent the last 20 months in a Chinese prison camp where they used every means possible to break him. None of that mattered. He needed to look strong for Jim. He needed to prove his worth and strength as a husband for Audrey and a father for Jacqueline.

"If I could catch a couple of hours I'd be fine. I want to help you take care of Audrey and Jacqueline."

Jim shook his head. "You need a hot shower and about 18 hours of sleep. I have a nurse coming around 9 o'clock to help take care of Audrey. I'm sure that Jacqueline's going to sleep for a while. She woke up when we brought Audrey home a few hours ago. We tried to keep the noise down, but it didn't work. She woke up and I had to explain to her what was happening. So her sleep was interrupted twice. Besides, I can take care of Jackie. I've done it for the last few months. Today isn't going to be any different. You get some rest. You're not any good to either of them if you're exhausted."

"Thanks, Jim," Jack said quietly. He was only moderately surprised by Heller's change of heart. Jack had found the man's Achilles' heel. Jim was deeply afraid of losing his granddaughter to Jack and apparently had decided that making an enemy of a former covert operative wasn't a good idea. By the same token, Jack wasn't stupid. He knew that deep down Jim wanted him as far from Audrey and Jacqueline as possible and he had the resources to make that happen if he felt that he had to. Jack had to make sure that he didn't give Jim a reason to use those resources. So, for now, they would have to peacefully coexist, keeping in mind that their ultimate goal of happiness for Audrey and Jacqueline was the same.

Jack entered the guest bedroom and closed the door behind him. He was beyond exhausted and his body ached from head to toe. More than anything he wanted to simply drop down onto the bed and sleep for a week, but as he looked down at his wet, dirty clothes he knew that sleep would have to wait a little bit longer. Looking at the bed longingly, Jack sighed and dragged himself to the attached bathroom. He reached into the shower and turned the water to hot and then stripped out of his still damp clothes and let them drop to the ceramic tile floor. With that he checked the water temperature and stepped into the piping hot shower. It was a simple act, one that most Americans perform on a daily basis, but Jack hadn't stepped into a hot shower in 20 months. He reached for the soap and formed a lather in is hands. It was so different than the rare shower in the prison camp where the water was icy cold and the soap barely bubbled as he would scrub it roughly over his skin.

The emotion of the moment overwhelmed him. It was suddenly all very real. By all rights he should be dead right now. A little more than 24 hours earlier he had been given up as a casualty of war by his country. But instead, he had survived. That was the story of his life. He was a survivor. No matter how many bad things happened in his life and how many times he wanted to give up and die, he never did. He survived the raid on the Drazen's lair at the port. He survived a suicide mission when flying a nuclear bomb into the desert to detonate. He survived to escape from the Salazar drug cartel and he survived his heroin addiction. He survived a Secret Service plot to kill him. And now he had survived 20 months in a Chinese prison camp. For a moment he wanted to die again. For the moment he thought about how much easier it would be to be dead, but only for a second. _There's a reason,_ he thought. _There's a reason that I've survived it all._ He knew the reason and it was right here in this house with him. He had to survive to start a new life with Audrey and Jacqueline and no one, not Jim Heller or all of his lawyers, was going to stop him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He was disoriented at first. The room was sunny and warm and the bed beneath him was soft. Certainly nothing like what he was used to over the last year and a half. It actually required him to stop and think about what had happened over the last couple of days in order to figure out where he was and why he was there.

Jack looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost 4:30 in the afternoon; he had slept for about eight hours. He closed his eyes started to roll over and go back to sleep for another eight when he heard the sound that must have awoken him. It made him smile. Jacqueline was in the hallway outside of his door. He could hear her running and laughing and her grandfather gently trying to shush her.

"Come on, Pop-pop!" she squealed. "I'm ready to go to the beach."

"I'm coming, Jackie," Jim said in a loud whisper. "But you have to keep your voice down. Mommy's sleeping."

"I want Mommy to wake up," little Jacqueline told him.

"I know. So do I, but we have to be patient. The doctor said that she needs to sleep a few more days and then she can start to wake up and get better," Jim tried to explain to the two year old.

"Okay," Jacqueline agreed brightly. "Then let's go build a sand castle for her!"

"I'm right behind you," Jim told her. Jack could hear the smile in his voice. Jim's bond to his granddaughter was a strong one. He was grateful that Jim had been there to take care of Jacqueline for him and he had no desire to destroy their special bond. But at the same time, he also knew that he needed to form a relationship with his daughter and building his own bond while allowing Jackie to maintain her attachment with Jim was going to be tricky.

Jack stretched and got out of bed. Someone had been in the room while he was sleeping. The clothes that he had dropped on the floor the night before were gone and the wet towels that he left over the shower rod were also gone. In their place were clean, dry towels. And neatly folded on a nearby chair were two pairs of jeans, several shirts, socks and boxer shorts. Jack suspected that Jim's housekeeper was dispatched early in the morning to supply him with something to wear.

Jack stepped into a pair of boxer shorts followed by a pair of jeans. He made his way to the bathroom to wash up. A toothbrush and tube of toothpaste along with a razor and shaving cream had also magically appeared. Once cleaned up, Jack put on a shirt and left the bedroom. It may have been late afternoon, but Jack had just woken up, so for him it was morning and he wanted coffee. He stopped on the way to the kitchen to see Audrey. She was still sleeping peacefully and Jack took a few minutes to kiss her and talk quietly to her before moving on to find coffee and food.

Jack smiled as he entered the kitchen. A fresh pot of coffee sat on the counter and the smell was wonderful. With a cup of coffee in hand, he opened the refrigerator to find something to eat. After 20 months in captivity, it was strange to have the freedom to walk around the house at will and choose what he wanted to eat. Jack knew, as he took some fresh fruit from the refrigerator, that returning to the "real world" wasn't going to be easy, but he needed to do it for Audrey and Jacqueline.

As Jacqueline's name crossed his mind, Jack remembered that his daughter was down at the beach with her grandfather. He looked out of the kitchen window and saw the little girl splashing at the edge of the surf with Jim hovering protectively nearby. Jack took his coffee and fruit and headed from a patio in the back of the house, down a flight of stone steps to the beach.

Jack stepped out onto the sand and took a deep breath. He found himself strangely nervous. He wanted Jacqueline to love him the way he already loved her, but he also knew that gaining the trust of the two-and-a-half year old who had never seen him before was something that he would have to approach with caution. If he came on too strong, he would scare her off. If his approach wasn't strong enough, she would ignore him. Jack feared both possibilities. He already had one daughter with whom he had no relationship; he couldn't bear the thought that he could have a second child who was indifferent to his existence.

"Hi!" Jack called as he approached Jim and Jacqueline. "Looks like you two are having fun. Can I join?"

Jacqueline edged closer to Jim and wrapped an arm around his lower leg.

Jack knew not to press the issue. He stayed back several feet near a pile of Jacqueline's sand toys and the start of a sand castle. "This is a great castle. Did you build this?" he asked.

Jacqueline didn't answer but watched him carefully.

Jack continued, "Is it okay if I sit here and work on the sand castle while you play in the water?"

Jacqueline looked up at her grandfather for reassurance. He smiled and nodded. "Okay," she said tentatively. She turned and began playing in the surf again, but kept a wary eye on Jack who was busying himself with filling buckets with sand and turning them over to create a series of buildings. He couldn't count the number of sand castles he had built with Kim when she was small. She loved the beach but was terrified of the ocean, so trips to the beach always consisted of hours of building sand castles.

As he added to his sand complex, Jack also kept an eye on his daughter. He watched how she played and how she interacted with Jim. He listened to her sing nursery rhymes and watched how she ran along the edge of the water thinking she was free while her grandfather was barely an arm's length away from her. Every moment was precious to him and he prayed that she would soon share some of those moments with him.

Jacqueline played in the water for another fifteen minutes before she turned her attention back to the sand castle and the stranger on the beach. "Hey!" she cried excitedly as she ran toward Jack. "Look how big the castle is!"

"Do you like it?" Jack asked her.

"A princess needs a really big castle like that, you know. You're a good sand castle builder just like Pop-Pop. What's your name?"

Before Jack could answer, Jim knelt down next to Jacqueline. "Jackie, this is your daddy, sweetheart. Remember when Mommy used to tell you that Daddy was far away and that he would come home someday?"

Jacqueline's eyes became very sad and her smile was replaced by a deep pout. "But then Mommy went away and we didn't think she was ever coming back."

"But Mommy did come back, Jackie. And now Daddy is here, too."

"I know this is all confusing right now, Jackie," Jack told her. "But it's going to be alright."

The late afternoon air had cooled off and Jack could see that Jacqueline was beginning to shiver. He reached for a towel that was lying on the sand. "Here, honey," he said as he draped the towel around her shoulders. It was the closest that she had allowed him to get to her. "Does that feel better? Are you warmer now?"

Jacqueline nodded and pulled the towel around her shoulders.

"Would you like me to help you dry off?" Jack asked gently without getting any closer. "Or would you rather do that yourself?" He was careful to leave all of the decisions up to her.

She looked again at Jim who kept his face neutral. He knew that this was a decision that Jacqueline needed to make for herself.

Without saying a word, Jacqueline took a step toward Jack. He opened his arms in a welcoming gesture and she stepped into them. Jack could feel tears fill his eyes as he wrapped is arms around his daughter for the first time. He dried her back and her hair as he hugged her. He loosened his embrace and took a small sweatshirt that Jim was holding out to him. "Can I help you with your sweatshirt?" Again he asked so that Jacqueline was free to make her own decision.

She nodded again; this time without looking to Jim for help. Jack smiled. It was a start. She had let him hold her and now he was helping her put on a sweatshirt. It wasn't how most fathers bonded with their children, but in this case, it was working beautifully.

"Can you help me make the sand castle bigger?" Jacqueline asked Jack. "I want it to be the biggest sand castle ever!" she said. "Pop-Pop, I want you to help, too," she directed him.

Jim smiled at her, obviously happy to know that Jacqueline wasn't excluding him from her life now that she had met her father. The three of them sat in the sand for a long time building the sand castle. Jack was amazed by his young daughter's attention span and her attention to details. She was bright and highly verbal. As Jacqueline slowly warmed up to him, she started including him in her conversation and Jack found himself as in love with the child as if he had been with her since birth.

The late afternoon moved into evening and Jack was pleased with how things were progressing. Jacqueline had allowed him to cut up her food at dinner but had refused to let him give her a bath. That task belonged to her grandfather. After her bath she allowed Jack to read her a bedtime story at Jim's insistence. But it was Jim who was given the honor of putting her to bed. Jack kissed his daughter good night for the first time in her life and then handed her off to her grandfather. She blew kisses to Jack as Jim carried her to her room. "See you tomorrow, Daddy!" she called.

The next day brought more of the same. Audrey remained sedated. The doctor drew blood from her and called Jim later to tell him that the blood levels of the drugs were dropping as expected and that the best course of action was to keep her sedated for another 36 hours or so. Jacqueline's trust in her father continued to grow and he was pleased when she climbed up into his lap just before nap time to snuggle with him. She still insisted that her grandfather put her in bed for her nap, but she was clearly more at ease with Jack than she had been a day earlier.

Jacqueline had finished taking her nap and was with Jack getting ready to go down to the beach and play before dinner, when the doorbell rang. Jack had just hoisted his daughter onto his shoulders and was headed for the patio when Jim's housekeeper escorted Bill Buchanan into the room.

"Bill!" Jack said. His surprise to see Bill was evident. "How did you find me?"

"Chloe," Bill said as he shook hands with Jack. "You didn't tell her where you were, but you gave her a fax number. She traced the number for me. She told me about the birth certificate and I took a guess that you weren't going too far away from here. If you weren't staying here, I figured that Secretary Heller would know where you were." Bill looked up at the little girl on Jack's shoulders. "She's beautiful."

Jack beamed. "Thank you," he said as he took Jacqueline down from his shoulders and held her in his arms. "This is Jacqueline Alicia. Jackie, can you say 'hello' to Bill. He's been a good friend to Mommy and Daddy."

Jacqueline leaned in shyly against Jack's chest and whispered, "Hello."

"We're just going to play on the beach. Would you like to join us?"

Bill shook his head. "Thanks for the offer. I wish I could, but I can't stay. I just wanted to give you a signed copy of the Vice President's pardon."

"Ah, my get out of jail free card," Jack said sarcastically as he took the document in his hand. "I shouldn't need one of these and neither should you and Karen. We did the right thing."

"I agree. The Vice President might not, but he was forced to either give us a pardon or have us stand trial and make public the fact that he was willing to give up the life of a 15 year old boy. That wasn't going to go over well with the general public. Daniels would have been ruined. He did the safe thing."

"How are things between you and Karen?" Jack asked.

"Okay." Bill sighed a little and Jack knew by the doubt in his voice that things were really a little less than "okay." Bill continued. "I'm on my way to the airbase to pick her up. Daniels gave her permission to take a military flight to LA. She wants to take a second honeymoon and try and put our lives back together." He shrugged. "After all that's happened in the last three months, I'm not sure that's possible."

"It is possible if that's what you both want. If you aren't going to try, it isn't going to happen on its own. Believe me. My wife and I separated once and when we got back together, we only made it work because it was what we both wanted."

Bill nodded solemnly. He knew the rest of the story: Teri Bauer was murdered before the two really got the chance to enjoy their reconciliation or the second child that they had conceived. Rather than comment, Bill picked a safer subject. "How is Audrey doing?" he asked.

Jack explained the situation quickly as Jacqueline squirmed in his arms. "I'm sorry, Bill. I've got to get this little lady down to the beach," he said with a smile. "Good luck to you and Karen. When things settle down, stop back and see us. I know Audrey will want to see you." The two shook hands and Bill headed back to his car. At the same time Jack repositioned Jacqueline on his shoulders and carried her down to the beach.

By the next day, Jack found himself falling into a routine and he liked it. He knew that his need for a routine stemmed from the security it provided after his 20 month captivity, but for the time being, it allowed him to get through each day. It was clear to him that he would need counseling to fully return to a normal life, but after only three days of freedom and the challenges that those three days had provided, he was happy with his response.

It was early that evening and Jack had just finished reading Jacqueline a story when Jim leaned into his granddaughter's bedroom. "Jack, there's someone to see you in the den," Jim told him.

Jack sighed quietly. Jim didn't say who it was, but he suspected that it was Marilyn. She seemed to have backed off of the romantic approach that she had taken at CTU and had suddenly turned into the helpless widow. She had called Jack twice already about helping her fix the mess Philip and Graem had made out of their company. Jack had politely told her that she would have to wait a few months. Without telling her that they had a child together, he explained that he and Audrey needed to get their lives back together before he could take on any leadership role in the company his father had founded and had so wantonly corrupted.

"Okay, Jackie," Jack said as he kissed his daughter. "Go with Pop-Pop and brush your teeth. Then it's bedtime."

"I wanted you to read another story," Jacqueline begged. Jack knew that she was used to getting her own way. It was clear that as good care as her grandfather had given her, he had also spoiled her. "Not tonight, munchkin. Brush your teeth and then off to bed."

Jacqueline pouted as Jim took her hand and walked her toward the bathroom. Jack couldn't help but smile. Some people would consider a spoiled child a problem but for Jack at this point in his life, it was a good problem to have. He and Audrey would instill some discipline when things got back to normal. Until then, he would deal with his daughter's demands carefully and make sure that they didn't get out of hand. With that, Jack headed toward the den steeling himself for the meeting with his sister-in-law.

He was at the door of the den when he saw her. Her back was to him, but that didn't matter, he would know her anywhere and from any angle. "Kim," he choked, his eyes instantly full of tears. "My God, Kim!" He wanted to run to her but he feared her reaction. Instead, he took a couple of tentative steps and stopped.

She turned quickly having not heard him come up behind her. "Dad," she whispered in an equally emotion filled voice. "Oh, Dad!"

They stared at each other for a long moment before Kim hurried to him and threw herself into her father's arms. "Thank God you're okay," Kim sobbed. She spoke rapidly in a disjointed stream of consciousness as if she needed to tell him everything all at once. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I acted like I did when I found out you were alive. Please forgive me. I keep hurting you and I don't know why. I did it after Mom died and now I've done it again. I'll never forget when Bill Buchanan came to tell me that the Chinese had kidnapped you. I was so scared and I was so mad at myself for leaving CTU the way I did that day. I'm so sorry, Daddy." By this point she was crying so hard that she could no longer speak. Sentences were coming out one or two words at a time.

Jack held her tight to his chest and stroked her hair. "Stop, baby," he said tenderly. "It's okay. I'm home now and we're together." Tears streaked his face. "I love you so much. I know I've put you through a lot and I'm sorry, honey." They held each other as they both cried.

"No, Daddy, none of it was your fault. I understand that now," Kim continued to cry.

It was several minutes before either began to calm down. As Jack was able to regain some composure he led Kim to the sofa and the two sat down together. "I wanted to call you, but I didn't know if you wanted to hear from me or not," Jack explained. "How did you find out that I was here?"

"Aunt Marilyn called me. I told her what I said the last time I saw you and that I didn't think that you would ever want to see me again. She said that she knew you still loved me and she talked me into coming here. I'm so glad I did. I'm so happy to see you." Kim clutched her father's hand and brought it up to her face. It was then that she saw the scars that covered it. "Oh, God! What did they do to you?" she cried.

Jack pulled her close again. "It doesn't matter, sweetheart. It's over now and that's what we need to focus on."

Kim nodded and tried to compose herself. "How's Audrey?"

"She's sedated right now. We'll know more tomorrow. The doctor is going to lift the sedation tomorrow morning and let her wake up. They were using some pretty heavy drugs on her and she was tortured. I don't know what to expect."

"I know how much you love her. I hope she can get her life back to normal and you two can have a future."

"Thank you," Jack whispered. He was amazed by the level of maturity that Kim was showing. She clearly had grown emotionally in the past 20 months. "We have a lot to catch up on," he told Kim as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Tell me what's going on in your life."

Kim was about to speak when a noise in the hallway attracted both Kim's and Jack's attention.

"Dad-dy!" cried the voice from just outside of the door. "Daddy, I need a goodnight kiss!" Jacqueline ran full speed around the corner and into the room. As soon as she was close enough, she launched herself across Jack's lap. "I need a goodnight kiss," she said again as she clambered into a sitting position. She looked at her father and then at Kim. "Who are you?" she asked. Then, having not gotten an immediate response, turned back to Jack. "Who is she, Daddy?"

Jim came into the room a step behind Jacqueline. "I'm sorry, Jack. I tried to stop her, but she was too fast for me."

"It's okay," Jack said. He looked at Kim who sat next to him obviously stunned. "Kim, this is my daughter, Jacqueline. I was going to tell you," Jack said softly. He had no idea how Kim was going to react but he already feared the worst. "We just hadn't gotten to that point yet. This was a surprise to me, too. I didn't know anything about her until two days ago."

Kim nodded and her expression softened. "It's nice to meet you," she said to the little girl. "Do people call you Jacqueline or Jackie?"

"I'm Jackie. Who are you?" she asked again.

"I'm Kim," she smiled. "I'm your big sister."

"A big sister!" Jackie exclaimed. Her eyes danced with excitement. "Just like Ella. My friend Ella has a big sister, too. Sometimes Ella's big sister plays with her. Can you play with me?"

"Sure, honey," Kim smiled. "I think it's time for you to go to bed right now, but maybe later this week we can play together."

"Okay," Jackie said happily. "Daddy, is that okay? Can Kim come and play with me?"

"I think that would be a great idea. Why don't you let Pop-Pop take you to bed and Kim and I will figure out which day she can come back to play."

"I don't wanna go to bed," she pouted.

"It's already past your bedtime, Jackie," Jack said gently but firmly. "Give me a kiss and then it's off to bed."

Jacqueline looked to her grandfather for support but found that she wasn't getting any. So she finally shrugged and said, "I guess so." She sat up tall, kissed her father and then jumped off of his lap.

"Goodnight, pumpkin. Sweet dreams. I love you," Jack called after her as she ran to Jim.

"Goodnight. Love you, Daddy," she shouted over her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Jackie," Kim said. "See you soon, honey."

Jacqueline stopped and looked back at Kim. "Goodnight, big sister! I love you."

"I love you, too," Kim said smiling broadly as Jim Heller carried his granddaughter out of the room. "Oh, Dad! She's precious. Congratulations."

Jack pulled Kim close again. "Thank you for accepting the situation. I was afraid that you would be upset."

Kim looked away. Jack could see by the look in her eyes that she was embarrassed. It was several seconds before she met his gaze. "A few years ago if I found out that you had another child, I probably would have been angry. But I don't feel that way any more. How can I possibly get angry that you and the woman you love have a child? What I really want is for Audrey to recover and for the three of you to be a family. You deserve to be happy, Dad. I know that you don't always believe that, but I do. You deserve to be happy. I just hope that when you and Audrey and Jackie become a family that you'll have some room for me."

He embraced her again. "You'll always be part of my life. I won't be happy unless you are."

The two sat and talked for a couple of hours. Kim brought her father up to date on her life and the lives of other family members. She told him that she had broken up with Barry, her psychologist boyfriend that Jack had met during the nerve gas attacks. She had gone back to college and gotten a computer science degree and was working in that capacity.

Before she left for the evening, Kim and Jack had re-cemented their father-daughter relationship as if nothing had ever torn them apart. Jack went to bed that night knowing that the pieces of his life were at last falling into place and it felt good. The only unknown at this point, and Jack admitted that it was a big unknown, was Audrey.

The doctor told Jack and Jim earlier in the day that he was going to begin lightening Audrey's sedation the next morning. Jack both feared and was excited by the thought. He wanted so much for Audrey to wake up. He wanted so much to talk to her and tell her that he loved her and to have her tell him that she loved him as well. He wanted to thank her for giving him a beautiful daughter and tell her that the three of them were finally going to be a family. At the same time, he was afraid that none of that would ever happen. First hand knowledge of what the Chinese could do to a hostage made Jack fear that the Audrey he had known and loved might be locked in a Chinese prison cell forever and the woman that had been returned to him from China might hold little resemblance to the woman he loved.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi! Sorry for the delay in updating this story. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's all got in the way and kept me from writing. I'm hoping now that all of that is over I can get back in the groove. _

_Thanks for being patient with me._

Chapter 3

Jack didn't sleep well that night. The first couple of nights that he slept in Jim Heller's guest room he slept like the dead. Pure exhaustion and the relief of finally being free of Cheng and his men had allowed him to relax and enjoy hours of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep. But this night was different. He had fallen asleep easily only to be awakened by a nightmare less than an hour later. That seemed to set up a pattern for the night: an hour or so of sleep and then another nightmare.

The dreams were so real that he woke up in a cold sweat with his heart pounding fiercely. The settings were different but the theme repeated itself in each dream. In every one, Audrey was in trouble and crying for help. He desperately tried to get to her, sometimes he could even see her, but he could never reach her. In some of the dreams he was locked in the cell in the Chinese prison camp. In others he was at CTU or in a huge crowd in the middle of the city. In the end, he could always hear Cheng laughing as Jack tried in vain to reach Audrey.

The sound of Cheng's laughter chilled Jack to the bone. It haunted him. In his Special Forces training, Jack had been schooled in how to endure torture. That training had served him well in China, but the one thing he could never ignore or get used to was Cheng laughing. The sound was like a knife cutting into his soul. He set two goals for himself during his ordeal in China. The first was to stay alive. As he told Bill when Bill first explained that he had been returned to the US to be sacrificed, he didn't mind "dying for something", he just didn't want to "die for nothing." His second goal was to attack Cheng and rip out his vocal chords. He had no intention of killing the bastard. He just wanted to leave Cheng mute. Jack looked for any opportunity to achieve his goal. He had been able to get a hold of a piece of metal just a few weeks earlier. The metal was hidden in his cell and each night he took it out and began fashioning it into a makeshift knife. It would be months before he could turn it into a useful tool, but he was a patient man. Jack knew that if he did it, he would likely end up dying for his actions, but in his mind at the time, that was akin to "dying for something" and it was well worth it.

Each time Jack awoke from a nightmare, he had to remind himself where he was and that he was safe. He would recall that Audrey was asleep in the room across the hall and that Cheng was in US custody. He still had his vocal chords, but he was in custody. Slowly, Jack's heart rate would return to normal and he would relax and go back to sleep. As morning approached, that process became harder and harder. He couldn't bear going back to sleep and allowing the cycle to start again. Instead, he climbed out of bed just as the sun began to rise and readied himself to face the day.

_Facing the day._ That might just turn out to be a more daunting task than sleeping through the night had been. What would today bring? How would it end? Would it end with his arms warmly tucked around Audrey or with her not even recognizing him? Or worse yet, would she hate him for all she had endured because of him. What if that happened? What if she made him leave, kept him away from Jacqueline?

Jack stood, drinking a cup of coffee and staring over the cliff behind Jim Heller's house, imagining the pain of Audrey rejecting him and his losing Jacquline. He knew that it was more than he could take. It would be the pain of losing Teri all over again. It would be the pain of having Kim reject him. It would be the torture he lived through in China magnified. He shook his head to push the thought away. He could survive anything as long as Audrey didn't hate him. She wouldn't even have to love him anymore as long as she just didn't hate him and she allowed him to see Jacqueline. He remembered the few minutes that they had shared alone in the CTU storage room when he tried to break through Audrey's drug-filled haze and get some information from her. She had clung to him and held his hand. Was it because she remembered him or was it just because he was being kind to her and she was scared? He didn't know but he hoped that it represented some memory of the love they had shared.

"There you are. I was looking for you." Jack startled slightly as Jim Heller's voice came up from behind him. "It's barely daylight. What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep," Jack admitted. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep either," Jim said looking down sheepishly. "I guess I'm worried about what's going to happen when Audrey wakes up today."

Jack nodded but said nothing.

Jim sighed and took a few steps away from Jack. He, too, stared down over the cliff contemplating the possibilities. "She's my whole world, Jack. Audrey and Jackie are all I have. You're young. You can move on. I know that you say you won't, but you can and you will. You'll find another woman who loves you and you'll make a new life for yourself. I don't have that luxury. I'm too old and too set in my ways to start again. I need my daughter and I need my granddaughter. I don't know how I'll go on if Audrey wakes up and is still in the same catatonic state that she was three days ago." He closed his eyes tightly as if to rub out a visual memory. "Her eyes were so vacant. It was as if she wasn't even in her own body. It was someone else's soul staring out at me through Audrey's eyes. I can't face that, Jack."

Jack saw the older man's eyes fill with tears. "I know," he whispered in return. "There was a moment or two at CTU when I thought she knew me, but I can't be sure about it. All we can do is wait and see what happens."

Both stared at the ocean lost in their own thoughts. Jim eventually broke the silence. "Did you have a nice visit with Kim?"

Jack couldn't help but smile. "It was great. She's so grown up now. I can't believe the change in her. I'm really proud of her."

"I'm sorry about letting Jacqueline run into the den. I tried to stop her but she got away from me. I'm sure that wasn't how you wanted Kim to find out about her."

"It's okay. You're right, that wasn't how I planned for Kim to find out. When Jackie first ran in, I was worried about how Kim would react, but it worked out fine. Like I said, Kim's grown up a lot in the last year-and-a-half. She accepted the situation really well."

"Your life's falling back into place, Jack. I'm happy for you," Jim said softly.

Jack nodded his thanks and stared back out at the ocean. He didn't doubt Heller's sincerity, but at the same time he realized that as the pieces of his life were falling more and more into place, Jim's world was as quickly coming apart. Jackie was happily bonding to her father and with Kim now on Jack's side, any hope Jim had of using Kim against her father in any future custody battle over Jackie had been destroyed. No, Jim was right. Jack's life was falling back into place; there was just one question left to be answered. "Now the only unknown is Audrey." Jack voiced his thoughts aloud.

The morning dragged on. Audrey's doctor told Jack and Jim that it would probably be several hours before she began to emerge from the drug-induced sleep that he had maintained for the past three days. Despite that, both were reluctant to leave her side, fearing that she would wake up alone and, possibly, disoriented and become frightened. As a compromise, they took turns sitting with her. Jacqueline clearly felt the raised anxiety level in the house and became more demanding of both her father and grandfather. So, whoever wasn't sitting with Audrey passed the time playing with Jacqueline.

It was early afternoon when Audrey first showed signs of waking. Jack had just put Jacqueline down for her nap and quietly entered Audrey's bedroom. Jim was now sitting on the edge of the bed holding her hand.

"Wake up, sweetheart," he said softly as he brushed some hair from her face. "We're here with you."

Audrey tossed her head slowly back and forth on the pillow. Her eyes were closed but her lips were moving as if forming words. She clutched the sheets with her free hand pushing them away and then pulling them back. Her movements slowly became more frantic and Jim tried in vain to calm her.

"Sweetheart, it's okay," he assured her. "Jack and I are here. You're safe. Please wake up, honey."

"Jack," Audrey mumbled sleepily as she began to fight against her father's grip. "Jack, help me! Please, help me, Jack!" she begged. Her eyes were still closed but her movements were becoming stronger and more purposeful. "Jack, please help me!"

Jim looked helplessly toward Jack who stepped forward and knelt next to the bed. He held her shoulders gently. "It's okay, baby. It's Jack. I'm here, honey. You're safe. Audrey, wake up. I need you to wake up for me. I need you to open your eyes, honey."

Audrey began fighting harder. Jack restrained her gently to make sure that she didn't hurt herself. "Jack! Jack, help me!" she cried as she pressed her hands against his chest. Her eyes finally opened, but she didn't seem to recognize him and Jack began to fear the worst.

"Audrey, look at me!" Jack implored her. He placed his hands on either side of her face. "It's me, honey. It's Jack. Look at me."

Slowly, Jack saw the change occur in Audrey's eyes. He knew that she recognized him and he began to smile. "It's okay, baby, I'm here. You're safe."

"Oh, Jack," Audrey whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "Oh, God, Jack! I knew you'd rescue me. I knew you'd find a way. I never gave up hope not for a minute. That's what kept me going. I knew that you'd find a way to escape and to rescue me."

As quickly as she had calmed down and relaxed in Jack's arms, he felt her tense up again. "Jack, if they find you here, they'll kill you. We have to get out of here!" Audrey struggled to get out of bed. "Help me up! We have to get out of here."

"Relax, honey," Jack cooed softly. "You're safe. We're not in China any more. We're home. We're back in The States. No one's going to hurt us. Look around you." He gestured to the rest of the room. "We're at your father's house."

"My father's house? How did we get here? Where is he? Is he safe?" Audrey asked anxiously.

"I'm right here, Audrey," Jim said, his voice filled with emotion. "I'm right here, sweetheart." He reached out and stroked her cheek.

"Dad!" she cried as she reached for him. "Thank God you're safe. They told me that if I didn't do what they wanted that they'd find you and kill you. I was so scared. They said that they'd kill you and Jacqueline." Audrey stopped abruptly and pulled away from Jim. "Jacqueline! Where's my baby. Is she okay? Is she safe?"

Both Jim and Jack were quick to try and allay Audrey's fears. "She's fine," Jim told her. "She's napping in her room, honey. She's just fine."

Audrey began to sob. "They told me that they'd kidnap her and torture her in front of me so that I'd talk. They thought I knew more about the raid on the Chinese embassy than I did. I was so afraid. I was so scared that they'd hurt her."

"They didn't get near Jacqueline. She's been safe the entire time. Nothing bad happened to her. Calm down, honey," Jim whispered as he held his daughter.

Audrey shook her head. She was beginning to panic. "We can't stay here. I'm afraid that they'll come here to find us. Jack, you have to find a way to make us all disappear. We have to go into hiding."

"Audrey, calm down," Jack said gently. "You have to believe me. We're all safe. Cheng is in US custody. He has no way to hurt us anymore. His men have no desire to hurt us. Our kidnappings were personal to Cheng. The Consulate that was killed at the Embassy was a relative of Cheng's. He wanted revenge for the raid. His men just went along with Cheng because he outranked them. Honey, it's over. We're home and we're safe."

"Are you sure?" Audrey asked.

"Positive," Jack replied. He smiled softly at her. "We're home and no one is going to hurt you again, sweetheart. I'll make sure of that. I'll keep you and Jackie safe."

Audrey's eyes widened suddenly as she remembered that the last time she saw Jack, he didn't know that they had a child. "Do you know about Jacqueline? Have you met her? I'm sorry, Jack. I wasn't trying to keep it a secret," she explained. "I just didn't want to tell you at CTU and have it distract you from all that was going on that day with the nerve gas. I wanted to tell you when we were alone."

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I understand. It's okay. I was pretty surprised when I met her but I love her to death. She's an angel and you and your dad have done a wonderful job raising her. Thank you for giving me such a beautiful daughter."

"I have to see her," Audrey insisted. "I know that you both said that she's fine, but I have to see her for myself."

"She's asleep in the next room," Jack told her as he took her hand and helped her from the bed.

Audrey stood unsteadily. "I feel like I haven't walked in a month. How long have I been sleeping?"

"About three days," Jim said as he stepped up next to Audrey to help steady her. "Take it slowly. You'll be fine."

Jim and Jack flanked Audrey as they walked across the room to the door. Jim stepped through without thinking about it. He looked back as he felt Audrey resist. She stood still and staring at the threshold. Jim tugged her hand gently.

Audrey closed her eyes and tears began to trickle down her face. Jack could feel her begin to tremble. Jim looked at her nervously.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I understand," Jack said as he drew her closer. He spoke tenderly. "The sudden freedom is a hard adjustment to make. You can leave the room. No one is going to stop you. No one is going to hurt you. It's taken me the last three days to start adjusting. We've both got a long road ahead of us, honey, but we can do it together. We'll need some help, but if we depend on each other we're going to make it. We have to. We owe it to Jacqueline."

Audrey nodded and swiped a hand across her face to wipe away the tears. She moved forward tentatively and crossed the threshold. As she put her foot on the other side, she looked at Jack smiling slightly. Jack smiled back and pressed a gentle kiss onto her temple. "The first step is the hardest and you did it. It's all down hill from here."

Together Jack and Audrey walked down the hall and into Jacqueline's room. The little girl was curled up on her bed with her favorite koala bear wrapped in her arms. Audrey gasped quietly and tears again drained from her eyes.

"Look how big she's gotten. She's so beautiful. I've missed her so much," Audrey whispered so as not to disturb her daughter's sleep. She knelt next to the bed and Jack could tell that she was fighting the urge to pull the sleeping child into her arms. He had fought that same urge just three nights earlier when he first met his daughter. "Does she remember me?" she asked hopefully.

Jim shrugged his shoulders slightly. "We talked about you every day. I kept a picture of you on her nightstand," Jim said as he pointed across the room. "Once you were home, she wanted to see you and she wanted you to wake up. So I'm not sure how much she remembers you but she knows who you are. Don't worry, honey, whether she remembers you or not, she'll adjust quickly. She's adjusted to Jack in just a couple of days. Now they're best buddies," Jim added in a voice that indicated to Jack that he still wasn't fully accepting of the situation.

Audrey stood and leaned against Jack. She put her arm around his waist. "Really? You two get along okay?"

"We're getting along great," Jack told her as he gazed on his sleeping child.

"She's sleeping so peacefully. I can't believe that I'm finally home and we're all together. This is all I focused on in China. Day after day, I made up scenarios in my head where you rescued me and brought me home to Jacqueline and the three of us were finally together."

"It's real this time, Audrey. It's real. We're home and we're together and nothing is going to separate us ever again."

"Promise?" she asked as hugged him tightly.

"Promise," he answered returning the hug.

The three adults watched Jacqueline sleep for a few more minutes before leaving the room and allowing her to finish her nap. Jack could feel a slight resistance from Audrey again as she stepped over the threshold and out of the room. It was obviously easier the second time and Jack breathed a silent sigh of relief. She was going to get better, just like he was, but it was going to take time. Neither of them would ever be the same, but he was now certain that they could live normal lives. Almost as importantly, Jack now knew that Audrey wanted him as part of her life and part of Jacqueline's.

"Are you hungry, Audrey?" Jim asked as they neared the kitchen. "You've been living off of intravenous fluids for the last few days. You should probably try and eat something light. Or maybe you would like to take a shower and get dressed. What would you like to eat? I'll have the housekeeper make that for you."

Audrey tensed against Jack. He realized that Jim Heller didn't understand his daughter right now. He couldn't give her a list of choices and expect her to make a decision. He knew by her reaction to stepping over thresholds that decisions were hard for her to make. Having had that freedom taken away from her for so long, and, he was sure, being punished physically or psychologically if she did make a decision on her own, she now became frightened when given even a simple decision to make.

"I… I… Jack? What?" she stuttered and pulled away from him to cower against a wall.

"It's okay, honey," Jack said kindly as he pulled her into his arms. "You don't have to decide right now. Let's make this easier. Are you hungry?"

"A little bit," Audrey answered still shaking like a frightened rabbit.

"Would you like something to eat?"

Audrey stood still her eyes darting back and forth between her father and Jack. It was a full thirty seconds before she finally nodded. "Yes," she said.

"Okay," Jack said in return. He knew better than to ask her what she wanted to eat. That was far too big a decision to make. With his special forces training, he had obviously fared better in captivity than Audrey had and choosing something to eat still unnerved him somewhat. He quickly searched his memory banks for what Audrey would have eaten for a light lunch back when they were dating. "Does yogurt and fresh fruit sound good to you."

Audrey finally smiled and began to relax. "Yes," she nodded. "That sounds good."

"Good." Jack smiled, too. It was going to be a long road, but they were going to make it. "While the housekeeper puts that together, would you like to take a shower?"

Again, Audrey nodded hesitantly. "I guess so," she whispered. Her eyes were wide and frightened. Jack knew instantly that she associated the shower with something bad or painful. Something had happened in or near a shower that frightened Audrey.

"It's okay, honey. Nothing bad will happen in the shower. You're safe. You can close and lock the door. I'll stay in the bedroom while you shower. No one will be able to hurt you." Jack assured her.

Jim went off to find his housekeeper and have her make lunch for Audrey. At the same time, Jack led Audrey back to the master bedroom where she had been sleeping. The bathroom was attached. "Go ahead and shower," he said making sure that she had a towel and shampoo and anything else that she needed. "I'll wait in the bedroom."

Jack started to close the bathroom door. He looked at Audrey who stopped and stared at the shower. "When I was first kidnapped," she started hesitantly still staring straight ahead. "Cheng's men took me back to the prison camp. My clothes were all torn and bloody from being pulled out of the car and beaten. The blood had dried and the fabric stuck to the wounds." She began to cry quietly. Jack closed the space between them and put his arms around her from behind.

Audrey continued, "There was a woman guard at the prison camp who acted like she wanted to be nice to me. Her English was perfect and she sat down and talked to me. She told me that if I'd just tell her what she needed to know that they could let me go. I probably would have told them anything at the time, but I didn't know anything valuable. She must have thought that I was holding out on her and she was looking for a way to force me to talk. So she continued to be nice and she asked me if I would like to have a shower and clean clothes. Of course I said 'yes'. Why would I refuse that?

"She took me down into a cellar where there was a cinder block and cement shower. I was in so much pain that I could barely stand on my own. She pushed me into the shower and I fell onto the floor. Then she and three other guards ripped my clothes off. All of the wounds reopened and I could see the blood on the shower floor. I just remember how much pain I was in and how scared I was. I was sure they were going to rape me but they didn't. I didn't understand what she was telling the guards, but I got the sense that she told them not to. I think that she understood that the fear of being raped was something they could continue to hold over my head. The guards argued with her for a while but in the end they obeyed her."

Audrey paused for a moment to get her breath. "After they tore off my clothes, the female guard turned on the shower. It was ice cold. I was lying on the cement floor of the shower crying and shivering. I couldn't move enough to get away from the cold water and even if I could, there was no place warm to go. I've never been so cold in my life. They finally turned off the water. And then, they closed the door to the shower and it was completely dark. There wasn't even a sliver of light under the door. I was so cold and so alone and so scared."

Tears filled Jack's eyes as he listed to Audrey. He pulled her closer knowing that the best thing to do was to let her continue as long as she wanted.

"I don't know how long I laid there. It seemed like days, but it was probably just a few hours or less. I was so disoriented by the darkness and I was going in and out of consciousness. Cheng finally opened the shower door and turned on a big spot light. He kept telling me that I needed to tell him everything or he would lock the door and leave me there. I must have been in shock because I just laid there and whimpered. I tried to form a coherent sentence. I tried to beg him not to do that, but I couldn't. I think Cheng got worried that they had gone too far; that they had really seriously hurt me. He was angry. I guess he was afraid that he might have lost his best source of information. He started yelling at the guards in Chinese. They pulled me up off of the floor and dragged me naked through the camp to a medical unit. I remember them throwing me on a gurney or some kind of a table. I must have passed out after that, because I don't remember any more until I woke up later in a cell. My cuts and bruises had all been bandaged and there was a splint on my wrist."

Jack was stunned as he listened to the last part of Audrey's story. He remembered clearly lying in his cell one night trying to sleep. He had been brutally beaten that day and his body ached from head to toe. He would have given anything at that moment to sleep but couldn't find a comfortable position on the cold, hard floor. As he tried for the millionth time to get comfortable, he heard Cheng talking to a female guard outside of his door. They were speaking in English. Jack had realized soon after his arrival at the camp, that the female guard was Cheng's second in command. They spoke English whenever they wanted to make sure that none of the other guards understood their conversation.

That particular night Cheng was angry. He kept his voice down to avoid a scene but his tone was sharp. Jack couldn't hear the entire conversation, but got the gist of it. He knew that a new prisoner was brought into the camp and the female guard was responsible for getting information from the prisoner. Cheng clearly thought that the guard had overstepped her bounds in trying to extract the information. He told the woman that the prisoner had to be sent to the medical unit for care. The guard sounded genuinely contrite as she begged his forgiveness.

At the time, Jack didn't give the whole episode much thought. Another prisoner more or less in the camp was of little concern to him. He was too busy trying to ensure his own survival to worry about that of any other prisoner. Of course, when it happened Jack had no idea that the prisoner at the heart of the discussion was Audrey.

The sudden realization that Audrey had been held at the same prison camp, likely within a few hundred feet of him at all times, was possibly more painful than any beating he had endured in China. Had he known he would have moved heaven and earth to rescue her. His own safety be damned. He would have killed Cheng and anyone else in his way in a second if it meant that Audrey would have been safe. Jack didn't think that it was possible for him to hate Cheng more than he did while he was held captive in China, but at that moment he could barely keep his rage in check and he wished to God that he had killed Cheng on the oil platform instead of taking him into custody. He wished that he had time to slowly torture the bastard for what he had done to Audrey.

Just as suddenly as his mind had moved from Los Angeles to China, it swung back. Jack realized that Audrey was still talking but he hadn't heard her. She was in his arms; her face pressed against his shoulder. He took comfort in the closeness and he pressed his lips to her temple. She responded by turning her face up to his. They stared into one another's eyes for moment before allowing their lips to meet. It was a long, slow, tender kiss.

Audrey pulled back slightly and Jack kissed her forehead. "Thank you for listening," she said quietly. "Thank you for being here."

"There's no place else in the world I want to be than with you. I love you, Audrey." They kissed again.

"Audrey," Jim called from just outside of the bedroom door. "The housekeeper said lunch will be…," he stopped as he entered the room and found the couple in a tight embrace. "I'm…I'm sorry," he stammered awkwardly. "I didn't realize…"

"It's okay, Jim," Jack said taking a step away from Audrey. "Audrey was just going to take a shower."

She nodded quickly, but Jack saw the anxiety in her eyes. "You'll be fine, sweetheart," he reassured her. "I'll find something for you to wear and leave it on the bed. Then you can come out onto the patio and eat lunch." He chose his words carefully in order not to give Audrey too many options that might confuse or frighten her. Over time, as she got used to her freedom, he would begin to offer her more choices.

"Okay," she responded passively, still like a prisoner.

Audrey reluctantly made her way into the shower and Jack found the closet in the next room where Jim had stored all of her clothes. He hadn't had the heart to get rid of them after he was told that Audrey was dead. Jack picked out a pair of jeans, a white camisole and a cotton pull-over sweater along with a pair of low-heeled sandals and left them on the bed.

With that complete, he took a second to check on Jacqueline, who was still sleeping, and headed to the patio. The small wrought iron bistro table was set with iced tea for three. One of the places was set with a plate and flatware just waiting for the Audrey to arrive and the housekeeper to bring her lunch. Jim was staring out at the ocean as he had done early that same morning.

"Jacqueline's still sleeping and Audrey will be out in a few minutes," Jack said as he approached Heller.

"Good," Jim said impassively and without turning around to acknowledge Jack's presence.

Jack noted the coolness in his tone and wasn't sure how to interpret it. He decided to continue. "I think she's going to be fine. It's going to take some time, Jim, but with counseling I think it's reasonable to believe that she'll eventually make a full recovery."

"Thank God," Jim said, this time with some feeling, but he still didn't turn to face Jack.

"Jim, is something wrong? I thought you'd be happier than you are."

"Don't you think you're moving a little fast, Jack? I saw you kissing Audrey. If I hadn't walked into that bedroom when I did, you'd have taken off her clothes and gotten into the shower with her. She's vulnerable, Jack. How dare you take advantage of her!"

Jack shook his head angrily at Jim's accusations. "I was not taking advantage of her! Yes, I kissed her, twice in fact. I love her, Jim. And I'd like to think that the fact that she initiated the first of those kisses means that she loves me, too, but I'm also not so naïve as to believe that in her current state of mind that she can make a decision that important. I would have never let that kiss go any further. I will not allow a physical relationship until I know that Audrey is capable of making that decision and that it's what she wants. To have a physical relationship with Audrey right now is nothing short of rape and I'm very clear on that fact, Jim." Jack stopped for a moment and his tone softened. "I don't want to hurt her any more than you want to see her get hurt. I have Audrey's best interest in mind just like you do. I give you my word that we won't enter into any kind of physical relationship until Audrey is absolutely ready. If you like, I can move out of the house. I'm sure that I can move in with Kim until I'm back on my feet. The only thing that I ask is that I be able to see Audrey and Jacqueline regularly."

Jim looked down and shook his head. "No, that won't be necessary. I want you to stay here. I know Jacqueline wants you to stay and there have been too many upheavals in her life recently. If you left, it would just confuse and upset her. And I know Audrey wants you to stay. I could tell by the way she looked at you. And the truth is," Jim sighed, "that I need you to stay. You have a much better understanding of what Audrey has been through and how to handle her than I do. I wouldn't have had any idea of what she was feeling or how to talk to her. Once she was awake and coherent, I would have just assumed that I could treat her like I always had and that she would have responded in much the same way." He shook his head and walked toward the edge of the patio. "I don't know the Audrey that's in that bedroom," he said gesturing toward the bedroom window. "She's a stranger to me. All of the grace and self-confidence that she had are gone."

"They'll come back, Jim. I told you that it will take time, but the Audrey you knew is still inside of that body. We just have to give it time to re-emerge."

"You're sure of that?"

Jack nodded. "Not absolutely positive, but very sure. Unfortunately, in my line of work, I've seen a lot of former prisoners, people who were held captive, just like Audrey, who lost their sense of self and did whatever it took to survive. Almost every one of them has been able to rebuild their lives. With our help, I know Audrey can do it, too, but we have to be there for her."

It was only a few more minutes before Audrey walked tentatively out onto the patio.

"Sweetheart," Jim said with a smile. "You look beautiful. Come, sit down."

Audrey smiled at her father. It was a subdued smile, but it was the biggest one that she had produced so far which pleased both Jim and Jack. Jack took a step toward the house. "I'll go in and get your lunch," he told her. He wanted to give Jim and Audrey some much needed time together.

Audrey walked to the edge of the patio and looked out at the ocean.

"I missed this view so much. It's so beautiful. Every day I wondered if you and Jacqueline were safe and if she was playing on the beach."

"I took her down to the beach every day that was nice. I felt closest to you there. In her own way, I think Jacqueline did, too."

They both took in the view for a long moment before Audrey again broke the silence. "Dad, I'm so sorry for what I put you through. I never meant to hurt you or Jacqueline."

"I know you didn't, sweetheart," Jim told her as he put his arms around her and hugged her gently. "I never blamed you, Audrey. I only ever blamed myself."

"Why would you have blamed yourself? You told me not to go to China. I did it anyway and I got kidnapped. It wasn't your fault," Audrey said.

"I blame myself because I should have been the one in China. They never would have gone after the Secretary of Defense. They couldn't have done it without setting off an international incident. I should have been the one in China exerting pressure on their officials. I should have been the one trying to rescue Jack. It wasn't a popular cause in Washington since it would have required that we admit ordering an illegal raid on the Chinese embassy, but I should have ignored the president and the cabinet members who were telling me to 'exercise caution'. What did I have to lose? I was nearing the end of my career. So what if the president forced me to resign? I would have resigned knowing that I'd done the right thing and you never would have had to risk your life. I'm sorry, Audrey. I was wrong."

Jack came back onto the patio with dishes in both hands. He had overheard much of the conversation and found his emotions mixed. He was both vindicated and angered by Jim's admission that he had done what was politically expedient, not what was right. Jim's arrogance and concern with his own career and legacy had nearly cost Audrey her life.

Jack quietly cleared his throat so that Jim and Audrey knew that he was back. "Here you go," he said as he set a plate of fresh fruit and a small bowl of yogurt on the table." He pulled out Audrey's chair for her.

She approached the table and stared at the plate. She, like Jack, hadn't seen fresh fruit in months. Her eyes welled with tears and Jack knew that she was remembering the daily ration of mushy rice that was pushed through a wide slot at the bottom of the cell door three times a day. Once a day it was served hot with some meat and vegetables in it, but the other two portions were cold and bland. Jack had been resourceful enough on a couple of occasions to steal food from the guards but he was sure that Audrey wouldn't have been able to do so. "You're home, Audrey," he reminded her. "It's over."

She blinked the tears from her eyes and smiled again. "It's just starting to sink in," she said as she sat down. "I'm really home."

Jack and Jim sat in the chairs on either side of her drinking iced tea and watching with pure relish as Audrey took dainty bites of the fresh melons and berries. She was savoring every bit of it.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment trying to take it all in. The day couldn't have been more perfect. The sky was blue and the air was cool, but the sun beat warmly on his face. Audrey sat next to him as if back from the dead. It would be a while before she fully returned to the world of the living, but he was sitting there, a witness to her rebirth. His beautiful little daughter was asleep in her bedroom and Kim was finally part of his life once again. He couldn't help but smile.

A quiet, and now familiar, noise broke his reverie. Through Jacqueline's open bedroom window, they could hear her tiny voice. Audrey's eyes again glazed with tears and Jack reached over to take her hand.

"Our daughter," she whispered.

Jacqueline had always been, as Audrey described it, slow to wake up. As she woke from a nap or a night's sleep, she would lay in bed for a long time and talk or sing to her stuffed animals. They could hear her doing just that. She was singing a little Spanish song about ducklings that the housekeeper had taught her.

Jim stood. "You two wait here. I'll go get her," he offered. "Give me a couple of minutes. I'll explain to her that you're awake so she knows what to expect."

"I wish I knew what to expect," Audrey said anxiously.

"I don't know what to tell you, sweetheart," Jim replied with a shake of his head.

Jack squeezed her hand a little harder. "Audrey, don't be upset if she doesn't want to come right to you. This is new territory to her and I think she'll be a little anxious. She'll warm up to you soon. I know she will."

Audrey tried hard to look confident as her father left the patio and headed for Jacqueline's room. Jack, too, was nervous. He hoped that Jacqueline, who could be shy at times that it suited her, wouldn't reject Audrey outright. If she did, he feared that it would be a huge setback for Audrey, who was already making what he considered to be huge strides.

"I'm scared, Jack," Audrey whispered. "What if she hates me?"

"I don't think she'll hate you, Audrey, but whatever happens, we'll deal with it together." Jack leaned in close and kissed her reassuringly on the cheek. "Whatever happens, I love you and I'll be here for you."

_I should just have one more chapter to go. Thanks for reading. I'd love it if you'd take a second and review. (As I've said before, I have no life and I live for reviews. Doesn't someone that pathetic deserve a review!)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jack and Audrey sat anxiously on the patio awaiting Jim's return with Jacqueline. Audrey took a bite of cantaloupe and smiled.

"I can't believe how good this tastes!" she exclaimed. "I've forgotten what it's like to eat real food." She paused while she finished the bite. "You know, you still haven't told me how we both ended up in Malibu."

"How many hours do you have? It's a long story, honey. I'm serious; I probably need a couple of hours at least to tell you everything. Suffice it to say, that the US government secured my release from the Chinese in order to use me in a suicide mission that backfired. I managed to escape with my life. In the meantime, Cheng tried to use you to get to me. CTU had secured a component from Russia that holds the codes to their nuclear arsenal. Cheng offered to return you in exchange for the component. It wasn't pretty, but in the end, I got you back and the component was lost at sea. Someday I'll tell you the unabridged version."

"Were we at CTU at some point?"

"Yeah, you were treated in medical at CTU before your father came and brought you home."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?" Jack asked.

"I thought I was remembering a dream, but I guess it was at least partially real. I remember being at CTU with you, but the rest isn't quite clear. It seems like someone was chasing us. I just remember being scared and huddling in a corner."

Jack nodded. "That was all real, sweetheart. I took you out of medical because I didn't like the way the doctor wanted to interrogate you. We were hiding in a storage room while I tried to make you remember anything that could lead us to Cheng. Eventually they found us and took you back to medical." _And the reason we were hiding was that your father had a restraining order keeping me away from you, _he thought but Audrey didn't question why they were hiding so Jack thought it best not to elaborate.

"I wonder how Jacqueline is going to react to me," Audrey pondered aloud as she dipped a spoon into the bowl of yogurt.

"Give her time and give her some space, honey. I know that all you want to do to hold her, that's how I felt when I first met her. I wanted to hold her and kiss her and tell her how much I loved her, but I knew that if I did, I would just scare her. She'll come to you when she's ready; just make sure she knows that you're always there for her."

"I guess," Audrey agreed uncertainly. "I'm just so afraid that she won't remember me and won't love me."

"It may take time, but she'll come around. Don't worry. Just let it happen on Jackie's time table and everything will be fine." Jack finished the sentence just as Jim returned with Jacqueline.

"Look who I've got here," Jim said as he stepped out onto the patio. Jacqueline was perched on his left hip. Her head rested on his shoulder. Jack immediately took note that she had her stuffed koala tucked tightly under her arm. He had come to realize over the last couple of days that the koala only appeared at nap and bedtime or when Jacqueline was feeling insecure. During his first day with her, the koala was in her arms constantly and if not in her arms, was where she could easily reach him. She had only agreed to let go of him during dinner if he got to "sit" in the seat next to her at the table. Over the next two days the koala was present less and less until this morning when she hadn't even bothered to take him from the bed when she got up. Now, with the prospect of reuniting with a mother that she didn't remember, her insecurities were back and the koala was once again nearby.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Jack smiled. "Did you have a good nap?"

Jacqueline nodded the affirmative but said nothing. She eyed Audrey warily as she had Jack when they first met.

Audrey stood slowly and took a step toward her daughter. "Hi, Jacqueline. It's Mommy. Do you remember me?"

Again Jacqueline nodded but she looked away.

"I'm home, honey," Audrey told her. "I missed you so much and I'm so happy to be home. I love you, Jacqueline."

Jacqueline said nothing but tightened her grip on her grandfather.

"Why don't we go sit down," he suggested softly to her. "We'll sit right over here." Jim chose the chair across from Audrey. It gave Jacqueline a good view but kept some distance between them. "There," he said as he sat down. "That's better. You're getting so big that I can't stand up and hold you for a long time anymore."

The three adults continued to make small talk to allow Jacqueline time to warm up to the situation. After a few minutes she lifted her head from Jim's shoulder and sat up taller. And, although she still wasn't talking to Audrey, she seemed less hesitant when looking in her direction.

"Pop-pop," Jacqueline said softly as she leaned toward her grandfather's ear. "Can we go play at the beach?"

"Sure we can," Jim answered. "I bet that Mommy and Daddy would like to go to the beach, too."

"Daddy," Jacqueline said looking Jack's way but carefully avoiding Audrey's gaze. "Will you help me build a sandcastle?"

"That sounds fun. Let's wait until Mommy finishes her lunch and then we'll all go to the beach."

"Okay," Jacqueline agreed. She slipped off of Jim's lap and wandered to the edge of the patio to play with some of her toys. She left the koala with Jim.

_It's a start, _Jack thought. He finished his iced tea. "Anyone else need a refill?" he asked as he picked up his glass and stood.

"Yes. Thanks, Jack," Audrey said handing him her glass.

"Daddy, can I have some milk?" Jacqueline called from where she was playing.

"You sure can, sweetheart, but my hands are all full. You'll have to help me."

"Okay. I like to help!" she said eagerly as she jumped up to follow her father.

They went into the kitchen where Jack took just a few seconds to refill the two iced tea glasses. He then filled Jacqueline's cup and covered it with a plastic lid. She reached for the cup but Jack held it just out of her reach. "Remember yesterday when you carried my glass out to the patio for me? How about if I carry your cup and you carry the big glass for Mommy? I bet she'll be surprised by what a big girl you are now."

Jacqueline's eyes lit up. "I won't spill it, Daddy," she promised him. "I'll be really, really careful."

"I know you can do it. Let's show Mommy."

Jacqueline took the glass carefully from Jack. She walked slowly taking tiny steps and watching the glass the entire time. Behind her, Jack watched his daughter proudly. He hoped that this simple act of delivering a glass of iced tea to Audrey would give Jacqueline a chance to begin warming up to her.

Jacqueline stepped out onto the patio and walked straight for Audrey's chair. "Mommy, here's your tea," she said in a little sing-song voice.

"You carried that all by yourself!" Audrey exclaimed as Jacqueline handed her the glass. "You did such a good job! Mommy's so proud of you."

Jack saw Audrey begin to lean forward as if planning to give her daughter a kiss but she thought better of it and simply ruffled the little girl's hair. Jacqueline stood an arm's length from her mother obviously proud of her achievement and pleased that she had made her mother happy. She watched as Audrey continued to eat her lunch.

"Mommy," Jacqueline said tentatively. "Do you like strawberries?" She was eying up a fat, red strawberry that sat near the edge of Audrey's plate.

Audrey nodded. "I like strawberries. Do you like strawberries?"

Jacqueline's head bobbed up and down. "I like them, too. That one looks really good," she said pointing at the fat berry.

Jack turned his head to stifle a laugh and saw that Jim was doing the same. Over the past few days Jack found his daughter's coyness to be amusing and endearing, but this particular moment was beyond precious.

"Would you like that strawberry?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, please," she answered politely.

Audrey took the strawberry from the plate and handed it to her daughter. "There you go." Jacqueline plucked it from Audrey's hand. She then backed off quickly and ran to Jack to show him. "Daddy! Mommy gave me a strawberry!"

"I see that," he said with a smile. "It looks like a sweet strawberry doesn't it. Why don't you try it?"

Jacqueline giggled as she ate the strawberry and tossed quick glances in Audrey's direction. Having finished, the little girl grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him toward the house. "Let's get ready to go to the beach."

It didn't take long for the pair to return to the patio dressed in bathing suits and armed with a mesh bag of sand toys ready for their afternoon in the water. "Pop-pop, are you coming?" Jacqueline asked impatiently as she ran toward the stairs to the beach.

"I'm coming, honey. Give me a second," Jim said as he stood. "Don't go down the stairs without a grown up, Jackie," he reminded her.

Jacqueline stopped short of the top step and looked back. "Mommy, are you coming?"

Jack could hear the hesitation in Audrey's voice. "I… I'll be… I'll be right there," she stuttered.

"Jim, why don't you take Jackie to the beach and we'll be down in a few minutes," Jack suggested.

Jim looked back and forth between Jack and Audrey. Jack could see a look of concern come over his face. "Is there anything I can do, sweetheart?" he quietly asked his daughter.

"No, I'll be alright," she whispered nervously without looking at him.

"It's okay, Audrey. Take your time. I'll play with Jacqueline," Jim squeezed Audrey's shoulder before taking Jacqueline's hand and leading her down the steps.

Jim and Jacqueline were out of earshot before either Jack or Audrey spoke. "I'm…I'm… I'm sorry, Jack. I can't do it. I can't. I can't walk down those steps. I'm okay on the patio and I don't understand it, but I can't go down to the beach. It's too… It's so… I don't know how to explain it," she gasped between quiet sobs.

Jack pulled her shaking body into his arms. "You're not used to open spaces yet. You got used to being confined in small, dim spaces and this is an adjustment for you, honey. It's okay. I understand. You don't have to go to the beach."

"But I'm letting Jacqueline down. How will she ever learn to love me and trust me if I can't even go to the beach with her? From her point of view, I abandoned her months ago. If I can't do things now to regain her trust, what will we build a relationship on?"

"Hold on, sweetheart! You're getting ahead of yourself. You have plenty of time and plenty of opportunities to build a relationship with Jackie. Right now you have to take care of yourself. We'll just sit here on the patio for a while. If you eventually want to try going down to the beach, I'll be here for you. If not, then we'll just stay here."

Audrey shook her head. "No, Jacqueline is waiting for you at the beach. You go. I'll be fine here."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked as he kissed her forehead.

"Very sure. If I sit on the chaise over there I can watch you while you play with her. I'm so happy to see the two of you together. It was all I could think about when I went to China. I just wanted you to be a part of Jacqueline's life. I didn't mean for it to end up the way it did, but I'd do it again if that was what it took to bring you home and to see you two together."

"Audrey, what you did was incredibly brave and I can't thank you enough for it, but I don't ever want you to risk your life for me again. I hope that it never comes to that, but if it does, forget about me and make sure that you and Jackie are safe. Don't ever leave her again for my sake. This time your father was there to take care of her, but next time he might not be. And even if he is, she needs a mother. Your dad did a wonderful job with her for the last few months and I know how much he loves her, but she needs you."

"You're scaring me, Jack. Is something going on that I should know about?"

"No, absolutely nothing. I'm not in any danger and neither are you. I'm not going back to CTU. I'm going to try and correct the mess my father made at BXJ. That might not be an easy job, but it should be a safe one," Jack smiled wryly.

Audrey nodded. "I know what you mean. I feel the same way. Jacqueline has to be our highest priority. If it ever comes down to saving me or taking care of Jacqueline, I want you to take care of her."

"Let's hope neither of us ever has to make that choice again," Jack said again pulling

Audrey close in his arms and enjoying the feeling.

Audrey kissed his cheek. "Now you need to go down to the beach and play with our daughter."

Jack couldn't help allowing a big smile to spread over his face. "I love to hear you call her 'our daughter'. I'm so proud of her, Audrey. And I love you both so much."

"I love you, too, Jack," Audrey told him as she again kissed his cheek.

Jack headed down to the beach to join Jacqueline and Jim. He looked back a couple of times to check on Audrey. Each time she waved to let him know that she was fine. His fears finally allayed, he trotted barefoot across the sand toward Jacqueline. The little girls squealed and giggled as Jack ran to the water's edge, scooped her up and continued to run headlong into the waves. They came up wet and laughing.

"Do it again, Daddy! Do it again!" Jacqueline cried.

Jack continued to roughhouse with his daughter fully absorbed in their playtime while Jim took the opportunity to rest on a large beach blanket. It was probably at least 15 or 20 minutes later when Jack glanced back up at the patio. At first he didn't see Audrey and could immediately feel an undercurrent of worry begin to creep into his mind. He wondered if he should have left her alone. The worry was replaced almost as quickly as it had appeared as he scanned the patio and saw Audrey about a third of the way down the steps to the beach. She had stopped and was sitting on a step. He was about to wave but stopped himself short not knowing if it would encourage her or put too much pressure on her to continue. Not sure which course of action was correct, he decided not to wave and to see how she did on her own.

Every few minutes Jack glanced at the stairs to monitor Audrey's progress. It took her the next half hour to descend completely from patio to beach. Jack finally waved to let her know that he had seen her. Audrey smiled and returned the wave. Jack could tell that she was pleased with herself. To anyone else it would have seemed an unimportant act, but Jack knew that to Audrey, it was monumental.

Once on the beach, Audrey kicked off her shoes and stood for a long time curling her toes in the warm sand. She finally took a few tentative steps forward before really gaining confidence and walking purposefully to the blanket where her father sat engrossed in a book. It wasn't until she sat down next to him that he realized that she was there. Jack watched Jim smile happily and pull his daughter into a bear hug. Jack knew that Jim understood the significance of Audrey walking down to the beach on her own. She wanted her old life back and she was fighting to overcome her fears and make that happen. They – Jack and Audrey – were really far more alike than they were different. Most people who knew them wouldn't have agreed with that, but Jack had always known that it was true. Put in the same situation in China, they handled it a little bit differently, mostly because Jack had been trained to handle it and Audrey hadn't, but in the end, they were approaching freedom in the same way. They were pushing the past behind them and reaching for a future that focused on family. Jack tossed Jacqueline into the air and caught her. Audrey sat watching and laughing and no sight could have made Jack happier.

The family enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Jacqueline eventually tired of the water and wanted to build a sandcastle. Jack was hopeful that she would let Audrey help with that activity as she had let him a few days earlier, but the little girl seemed more reluctant to include her mother. She did let Audrey add to the periphery of the castle but she huddled close to Jim and Jack and continued to shy away from Audrey.

The afternoon was so perfect that they all hated to leave the beach. Around 6:30 they finally went back to the house for dinner but Jack, Audrey and Jacqueline decided to return to the beach to enjoy the evening. Jack and Audrey strolled hand in hand along the edge of the surf while Jacqueline ran a few steps in front of them skipping and splashing and occasionally stopping to pick up a shell or a stone.

For Jack, who had probably taken hundreds, if not thousands, of walks on the beach in his life, this one seemed to be the most amazing. Less than 12 hours earlier he stood on the patio drinking coffee with Jim worried about what would happen when Audrey awoke. Now here they were together, on the beach, with their child. He understood clearly that they had a long way to go before life was "normal" but they were on the right path.

"I see a big shell!" Jacqueline cried and took off running.

Her little voice brought Jack back into the moment. "Don't get too far away from us, Jackie," he called to her.

She stopped and looked back. "Come on!" She motioned them impatiently as she continued to run a few more steps and then drop in the sand. "Look what I found!" Jacqueline pulled the shell from the sand and rinsed it in the water to clean it off. "Look how big it is!" she said as she examined it.

Although not a huge shell by any means, it was a little bigger than most that she found on this stretch of beach. "It's so pink inside," she said as she carefully ran her finger along the smooth inner surface. "Look, Mommy. Look how pretty it is." Jacqueline stood back up, ran to Audrey and handed her the shell.

Jack could see that Audrey's eyes were filling with tears. "It's beautiful, Jacqueline," she said as she knelt in the sand next to her daughter. The two looked at each other for a long moment before Audrey enveloped her nearly three year old daughter in her arms and kissed her. Jack could tell that she didn't want to let go, but was forced to as Jacqueline squirmed from her arms.

"I'll look for more shells," she announced as she darted off down the beach.

"Hold it, munchkin," Jack called after her. "Let's turn around and head back home."

Jacqueline looked back and pouted. "I got all those shells already!" she reminded him.

"There might be a few that you missed. Let's look for those on our way home."

"I don't want to go home," Jacqueline stomped her foot into the wet sand, turned away from her parents and took several large steps down the beach before looking back defiantly to see what they were going to do.

Jack could tell that this disagreement with his strong willed daughter had the potential to turn into a real argument. That was something he didn't want to have happen when things were starting to go so well between Audrey and Jacqueline. He decided that rather than argue with a child who was used to getting her own way and who had inherited his own stubborn streak, he would turn it into a game.

"Okay," Jack said shrugging his shoulders. "I guess if you aren't going to come on your own, I'm going to have to come and get you!"

He started running toward her, causing Jacqueline to shriek with delight and begin running as well. Jack, of course, covered the distance much quicker. He caught Jacqueline from behind sweeping her off of her feet and lifting her high into the air. She laughed uncontrollably as Jack wrapped an arm around her midsection, tucked her under his arm and carried her along the beach.

"Put me down," Jacqueline begged between peals of laughter. "Daddy! Put me down!"

Jack eventually relented and set her down on the sand. Jacqueline was breathless from laughing which gave Jack a chance to take her left hand and Audrey her right before the little girl could protest. She gave in without a fight and skipped happily along the beach between her parents for the first time in her life.

By the time they arrived back at Jim's house, it was time for Jacqueline to get ready for bed. After only three days, the bedtime ritual had already become an important part of Jack's life, much like it had been when Kim was the same age. Jack liked this time of day. He liked giving Jacqueline her bath and reading bedtime stories. He liked snuggling quietly with her before kissing her goodnight and putting her in bed. Jack hoped that Jacqueline would allow Audrey to play some part in the ritual, but found that, like the night she first met him, Jacqueline would only agree to Audrey reading her one story and giving her a goodnight kiss. Jim then tucked her into bed and headed out onto the patio where Jack and Audrey were enjoying the late evening breeze.

"Did she give you any problems, Dad?" Audrey asked.

Jim shook his head. "Nothing unusual. She had to make one more pit stop in the bathroom and then she needed a drink of water. I had to rearrange her stuffed animals so they were in the right order, which, of course, was a different order than last night, but all in all, she went down without a fight. She's tired tonight. She had an eventful day," he smiled as he took Audrey's hand and squeezed it.

"You've done an incredible job of taking care of Jacqueline, Dad. I can't ever thank you enough," Audrey said giving him a hug. "Now, if you two don't mind, I'm kind of tired myself. It's been an eventful day for me, too. I'm going to get ready for bed."

"Sleep well," Jim said as he hugged her one more time. "It's so good to have you home, sweetheart."

Jack hugged and kissed her as well. "Good night, honey. I'll see you in the morning."

Audrey went inside leaving Jack and Jim on the patio alone.

"I'm going inside for a drink. Would you like to join me?" Jim asked.

Jack nodded. "Sounds good," Jack said as he followed his onetime mentor. "It's starting to get a little windy out here."

"Looks like a storm's blowing up," Jim agreed as he pointed to clouds rolling in at a distance. "I didn't think a storm was forecast, but those are storm clouds."

Jim made two martinis and the two sat in the den and drank in comfortable silence. Jack called Kim to say see how her day had been and arrange to meet later in the week. She was happy to hear that Audrey was doing well and was looking forward to seeing Audrey when she came over for her promised "play date" with Jacqueline.

Jack went to bed that night happy that his life was where he wanted it to be. He would get in touch with Nadia at CTU the next day. He had spoken with her briefly after Bill delivered the Vice President's pardon and she had offered psychologists and counselors for both Jack and Audrey that were specially trained to work with former hostages. He wanted to get help for the two of them as soon as possible. The sooner they could put their individual lives together, the sooner they would be able to resume their relationship.

Jack awoke a few hours later to a loud crack of thunder. He instinctively moved to the center of the bed, pulled his arms and legs in close and took up a defensive position. It took him several seconds to remember where he was and that he was safe. _This is California,_ he told himself. _This is just a rain storm, not a monsoon. The storm will end in hours not weeks and there won't be any rats. _The thought of rats made Jack shiver involuntarily.

Although Jack was never quite sure where in China he had been held, he assumed from the pattern of monsoons in the later spring that he was in one of the southern provinces. The prison camp itself was on higher ground, but the surrounding area was low and swampy. When the monsoons came, so did the rats. Forced from their homes in lower lying areas by the flooding rivers and tributaries, the rats made their way into the prison camp. They were everywhere and managed to find their way through holes and cracks into every cell. Jack remembered being asleep and waking with a start as one of the rodents ran across his face. When food was pushed through the slot in his cell door, the rats would attack it before he could get to it. It was almost impossible to sleep during the monsoon season since the rats would crawl all over his bunk. The memories were unbearable and Jack fought to control them.

Unable to lie in bed any longer, he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. Quietly, he tiptoed into Jacqueline's room to check on her. He met Jim at the door.

"Storms usually wake Jacqueline up," Jim whispered. "She's afraid of the thunder."

The two men entered the room and found the little girl sleeping peacefully unconcerned by the storm. She lay on her side with her face pillowed on the stomach of her stuffed koala. Jack and Jim smiled at each other as they left the room and headed back to their own. Jack was about to take his jeans off and get back into bed when he heard Audrey's cry.

"No! Stop! Get away from me!" she screamed. "Help me, Jack! Help me! Get them off of me!"

By the time Jack ran to her bedroom, Jim was already there trying unsuccessfully to get his hysterical daughter under control. "I don't know what happened," he looked fearfully at Jack. "She must be having a nightmare."

"Either a nightmare or a hallucination," Jack explained. "It's the storm. It reminds her of the monsoons in China." Jack wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "It's okay, baby," he cooed tenderly. "You don't have to be afraid. There aren't any rats here, honey. You're safe."

"Rats?" Jim asked quizzically. "What are you talking about?" 

"Rats came out of the flooded areas during the monsoons. They were all over the cells and in her mind she's still there and the rats are attacking her." Jack turned his attention back to Audrey. "Sweetheart, look at me. It's Jack. I'm here. You're not in China and this isn't a monsoon. There aren't any rats. Wake up, Audrey."

Slowly, Jack's words sunk in and Audrey stopped fighting. She collapsed, sobbing, in his arms. "It was awful, Jack. They were everywhere. I couldn't keep them away from me," she wept.

By that time, the commotion had awakened Jacqueline who came into her mother's room carrying her koala. "Pop-Pop, is Mommy afraid of the thunder, too?" she asked as she reached up to encourage her grandfather to pick her up. He did so without hesitation and kissed her cheek. Jack saw her cringe when she heard a clap of thunder.

"I think Mommy had a bad dream, honey, but she'll be fine," Jim assured her.

"Sometimes I have bad dreams and I cry, too," Jacqueline said matter of factly.

"That's right. We all have bad dreams sometimes," Jim told her.

"I know what will help," Jacqueline said. She wriggled out of her grandfather's arms and down to the floor. Grabbing his hand, Jacqueline pulled Jim toward the door. "Come on, Pop-Pop."

"Where are we going, Jackie?" he asked.

Jack watched them go wondering vaguely what Jacqueline had in mind, but more interested in trying to calm Audrey down. He sat on the bed next to her listening attentively as she told him of her experiences during the monsoon. As Jack expected, they were much like his own. She pulled her feet out from under the covers to show him the scars from several rat bites on her feet and ankles. Audrey calmed down over the next few minutes with only an occasional sob interrupting the quiet. She rested comfortably in Jack's arms. The two looked up as Jim and Jacqueline reentered the room.

"Here, Mommy," Jacqueline said as she approached the bed. "This will make you feel better. When I have a bad dream, Pop-Pop always gets me a drink of water." Jacqueline handed Audrey one of her own cups with a lid on the top and a straw poking through the opening.

"Thank you, Sweetheart," Audrey said as she took the cup. Jack noticed that her hand was shaking, but she was able to control it enough to take the cup and get a long drink from it.

"You're right, honey," she told Jacqueline as she gave the cup back to her daughter. "I do feel better."

Jacqueline turned and handed the cup to her grandfather. She clearly had more planned. "After the drink of water, Pop-Pop always gives me my koala." Jacqueline held the stuffed animal out to her mother. "Take him. He'll make you feel better."

"Thank you, honey, but are you sure you want to give him to me for tonight? Don't you want him to sleep with?" Audrey asked.

"It's okay. You can have him tonight," Jacqueline said. Jack couldn't help noticing that Jacqueline didn't look nearly as sure of herself as she sounded. She eyed up the koala in her mother's arms and hesitated for a moment. "Mommy, do you think we could share my koala tonight?"

"Share him?" Audrey asked not sure of what her daughter meant.

"Yeah," Jacqueline said as she crawled onto the bed, slipped under the covers next to her mother, took the koala from Audrey's arms and set it on the bed between them. "See, now we can share him."

"That sounds like a great idea, sweetie," Audrey said as she leaned back against Jack and smiled radiantly. They all knew at that moment that Audrey had her daughter back for good.

Jim leaned over and kissed his daughter and granddaughter. "Good night to both of you. Sleep well."

Jack started to do the same but Audrey grabbed his hand. "Please don't go," she said quietly. "Please, Jack. I'm still shaking. Please stay with me."

"I'll be right across the hall, honey," Jack said glancing up at Jim. He remembered his conversation with Audrey's father earlier in the day regarding their physical relationship.

Jim shook his head. "Stay here tonight, Jack. Audrey needs you."

Jack gave Jim a long look as if to make sure that the older man meant what he said. Jim nodded silently and left the room. Jack slipped into bed next to Audrey, sandwiching her between himself and Jacqueline who had already fallen back to sleep.

"It's a good thing this is a big bed," Jack said with a quiet laugh.

Audrey turned and kissed him. "I think this is the most incredible moment of my life. I don't think I've ever been happier. I don't ever want it to end, Jack. I want us to be a family. I want us to be together."

"I'm not going anywhere Audrey. I love you and Jacqueline too much to ever leave. We're going to make it work, Audrey. I promise."

Audrey lay on her side with her back pressed against Jack's front and her arm around her daughter. Jack put his arm around Audrey and kissed the back of her neck. Their struggle to become a family wasn't over by any means, but they were well on their way. Even Jim seemed to be on board with it, no longer protesting Jack's place in Audrey's or Jacqueline's life. Jack suspected that Jim suddenly felt out of place. Just a few days earlier, he had been Jacqueline's sole caregiver. He was the focus of the child's life and she, the focus of his. Now she had two loving parents and Jim's role had been diminished to that of doting grandfather, but he was falling into that role well. Within a few months Jack hoped that both he and Audrey would be fully recovered. He would go to work at BXJ and they would move out of Jim's house to one of their own. He didn't want to move far. After all Jim had done to raise Jacqueline while he and Audrey were held captive in China, Jim deserved to be near his granddaughter. But the time would come when they needed to have their own space. And when it happened, Jack would know that he and Audrey were finally home at last.

_Thanks for sticking with me for a four chapter story that seems to have taken forever to write! As you know, I love reviews. (Okay, I admit it, I'm addicted to reviews like a junkie to heroin!) If you've finished the story, please take a second to let me know whether or not you liked it. It doesn't have to be an elaborate review, a few words will do! Thanks again!_


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